Precisionscreen has a range of precoating equipment. Image: Precisionscreen
Precisionscreen has adapted its range to suit the growing need for mobile quarrying equipment.
Given the Australian geography, precoating equipment needs can vary from state to state and from the major aggregate players to the small, independent contractors.
However, precoating can be expensive, so it is imperative to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Precisionscreen’s 3000 and 6500 Precoater models have been proven popular in South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. Due to the nature of their work, more job sites in these regions need mobile equipment, whereas eastern states like New South Wales have a greater demand for quarry-based precoating.
Since the Brisbane-based manufacturer bought the two models to market, the industry needs in those regions have been in demand.
Jonny McMurtry, Precisionscreen’s chief operating officer, estimates the Brisbane-based company has sent eight to ten mobile Precoaters to South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia in the past 12 months.
“It’s been a consistent demand; it usually comes in waves, but it has been a consistent demand for those styles of machines and that type of precoating application,” he said.
“Those states west of New South Wales and Queensland focus more on mobile precoating. I think the distance between centres and capitals is probably one of the main reasons they do.
“The fact they can couple it up and conduct precoating by the side of the road or quarry-based precoating – whichever they need – makes it a particularly sought-after machine.”
Operators can use the Precoater 3000 and 6500 models for job-site-specific applications while maintaining quick and effective delivery.
The Precoater 3000 has an eight-by-four-foot screen box, a 3000-litre tank, and a tail conveyor that can discharge over four metres. It has 12 individually controlled precoat spray nozzles across three bars attached to the tumbler chute. The 3000 model can deliver a consistent throughput of more than 120 tonnes per hour.
For those needing a greater capacity, the 6500 model offers a bigger build. The larger model is equipped with a 6500-litre tank, a ten-by-five-twin-deck screen box, and a discharge point of more than four metres. It comes with more precoater nozzles (14), which deliver a greater throughput rate of more than 150 tonnes per hour.
Both models use PLC electronic panels and machine controls to make them easier for operators to control. Precisionscreen partnered with electronic hardware supplier IFM to upgrade the previous hydraulic controls. Operators can start and stop material flow remotely using these controls, and the equipped CAT engines have a shut-down function to ensure operator safety.
As an Australian-based manufacturer, Precisionscreen can modify the Precoaters to suit the customer’s requirements from its Wacol headquarters, including adding extra filters or modified spraying systems.
The 3000 and 6500 Precoaters have earned plenty of repeat customers.
“Over the past four to five years, it has probably been a 50-50 split where we’ve had customers adding onto their fleet or replacing existing machines.
“But the last eight to ten machine sales over the past year or so, 50 per cent have probably been new companies where it’s been their first machine, and they’re entering this market.
“[The 3000 and 6500] cover both bases. If customers have bigger demands, they can lean towards the 6500, whereas the 3000 can still cover many applications and customer requirements , including high volume daily production, where needed.”
In addition to the 3000 and 6500 Precoaters, Precisionscreen’s Scorpion Precoater is an adaptation of the company’s Scorpion Reclaimer Screening Plant with an added precoating conveyor.
It is equipped with an eight-by-four-foot two-deck screen box, an onboard precoat chute, and an independent feeder belt with variable speed. The Scorpion Precoater’s specially designed chute allows material to be sufficiently tumbled and turned while the precoat nozzles coat the material quickly and efficiently.
“It’s a cost-effective way for quarry-based precoating to occur. It has all the same elements as our road-towable machines, the same Australian-designed screen boxes and all the fabricated framing, but it is a semi-mobile application,” McMurtry said.
“It achieves an adequate tumble and coating on your aggregate with the precoat liquid, but it caters more to the companies coming to the quarries to collect the material.”
Precisionscreen makes its Precoaters in its Wacol headquarters in Brisbane. Image: Precisionscreen
As the quarrying industry shifts and costs catch up with operators at all levels, some are looking at ways to adapt operations to be more cost-efficient.
Alongside this trend, Precisionscreen has noticed an increased demand for precoat attachment kits. These packages transform standard conveyors into precoater conveyors thanks to the hydraulically-driven precoat pump.
It pumps the material to the tumbler chute, which can hang off most conveyors in the industry, where the material is coated quickly and efficiently.
McMurtry said the company can adapt the precoat kits to suit most conveyors with information from the customer.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got a quarry-based precoating conveyor from a pre-existing conveyor that you might have already on site,” he said.
The company supports customers across Australia in achieving the most from their Precoater machines. Through a combination of its internal staff and state-based contractors, Precisionscreen has a network of experts to help quarry companies and contractors.
Precisionscreen will attend the IQA 2024 National Conference in Adelaide from October 15–17. •
For more information, visit precisionscreen.com.au.
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